tim_eastman

<p>I have not tried it, but results I have seen are great:<br>

http://www.tawbaware.com/startracer.htm</p>

<p>Agree with Kirk or RRS plates. They are specific to each camera body, molded with a lip that wraps around enough that there will be no rotation. Only 1 screw needed. They are pricey, but well worth the security of knowing your camera will never roatate.</p>

<p>!8 - 200 and 10 -24, unless you have a lot of unscheduled time to change lenses. If not, the 18 -200 will be splendid. The prime police will object, of course!</p>

<p>Depending on what type of pano you are doing you may not need a head at all. If there are no foreground objects to introduce parallax error you should be able to overlap by a suitable amount and the stitching program will match things up. If you ear shooting in low light all bets are off, but if your ball head has a panning base you can do single row.</p>

<p>It looks like you have a capability that Homeland Security might be concerned about! Sadly, I say that half in jest and half seriously.</p>

<p>From what I understand the output resolution is so small that this device is meant for web output only. Technically it may be a camera, but they should be more upfront about what it is not. If you have $ 400.00 for a cool gadget that won't replace your camera go ahead and enjoy the technology.</p>

<p>Semi related, but the story of this outfit's successful effort to take aerial panoramas of the Taj Majal is worth reading. Their panoramas are stunning.<br>

http://www.airpano.com/360Degree-VirtualTour.php?3D=Taj-Mahal-India</p>

<p>Another vote for the 18 - 200.</p>

<p>If you are using flash I would think you can keep the ISO in an area where noise won't be a problem, making the 510's better ISO performance a moot issue. Based on my use of the D300 I would trust it more, especially focus, and it is hard to get a re do on wedding pics!<br>

I am still astonished there is no D400 yet. Maybe a Christmas surprise? For all the D300 & D300s owners who don't want FX and want to keep controls familiar it seems they are being treated rather poorly, but I guess the profits from mass consumer cameras exceed the flood of D400's that would be sold! </p>

<p>I am looking for a book on shooting video with the D7000 that has practical tips for those of us who are not aspiring Hollywood directors. There are books that are quite involved, and while the issues remain the same ( proper focus, exposure, and camera placement / movement ), it would be nice to have a book that is focused on simple methods to get there.</p>

<p>I don't know about Photoshop, but in PTGui you can create a template which should enable you to batch the panos. I know what you are trying to do. I agree that you have much more flexibility to control and fine tune your output if you have layered panoramas to work with. Often the question comes up, whether to HDR first or your approach. HDR can be hit or miss. In PTGui you can create .psd output. I also don't know about PTAssembler, which many use to generatewide angle panos, vs. spherical.<br>

Of course this does not help with CS5!</p>

<p>I would sit tight until the D400 comes out. I am rather baffled by the lapse between the D300S and the D400.... , with so many D300 D300S users waiting anxiously for a worthy heir. I love my D7000 but it is not in the same league as the D300 in some critical respects, and a D300S D300 user would quickly notice.</p>

<p>http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?is=REG&sku=829236&Q=&O=&A=details</p>

<p> </p>

<p>It seems " HDR " means different things to different people. I personally don't like the garish, cartoonish look. At some point it ceases to be a photograph, but this definition is a slippery slope. To me, HDR is trying to get the maximum tonal range to achieve closer to what the eye sees and a camera cannot. I don't know if Lightroom can do luminosity masks, but they can be a useful tool. At a minimum, if you shoot in RAW you will give yourself more latitude in PP.</p>

<p>You may want to check out Feisol too. http://www.feisol.net/feisol-traveler-tripod-ct3441s-rapid-p-38.html</p>

<p>" Diane: Both Nodal point swivel and geared and non geared slides. These move the camera down a track, no rotation.<br /> The issue: When to use either system; they both work. "<br>

Huh? If by slide you mean a sideways motion, you will find that changing perspective can make stitching almost impossible, unless you are photographing a long flat painting. Try closing one eye then the other to get an idea of the problems of changing perspective.</p>

<p>Shoot early or late if your time permits. Make an effort to get up early or be free to shoot at the end of the day. You will get better lighting and fewer people.</p>

<p>James:<br>

<br /> The 8mm Sigma is what you want if you have a DX sensor camera. You are on the right track with John's tutorials. It takes some time, but there is a reason PTGui is so well thought of. You will get good results if you stick with it.<br>

The following was done with a D7000 + Sigma 8mm + NN R10 on a monopod: http://eastmanwoodworking.com/panos/Courtyard2D.html</p>

 

<p>Speaking of CS5..... I just went from CS2 to CS5. One thing I don't like is the windows behavior. In CS2 and older I could maximize a window and it would not hijack the screen. I could also tile vertically or horizontally. Is there a way to make CS5 mimic CS2's window layout?</p>

<p>I finally got a new computer and updated to CS5. Previously I was opening RAW files in NX2 and liked a few of the features it offered vs. my CS2. It may be that argument does not hold water anymore, as CS5 has more features to offer, plus I much prefer the Photoshop interface. Any obvious reasons to compare NX2 ( 3 ) to CS5? There used to be an argument that the RAW conversion engine in NX2 was better because it could use the secret Nikon source code.</p>

<p>Vello Wireless, but the ML L3 works fine with mirror lock up, you just need to set the release mode. I just discovered this and love that feature.</p>

<p>I just got a nice new computer and it is a pleasure to use. For cost considerations I went with ( 1 ) TB HD, figuring I would be adding storage after my wallet filled back up. It seems many folks are using external HD's to store photos, maybe two with one as a mirror. We are generating enormous amounts of data these days and I blew through a 500G internal HD in about a quarter of the time I thought I would based on my picture accumulation. Most of us are going to have internal or external HD's stacked up like photo albums, so I am trying to think of a good strategy. Burn to DVD and also store on HD? It gets pretty expensive if my strategy is to have duplicate HD's.</p>

<p>What lens are you using? Are you doing spherical or multi row panoramas? If you want light, for your motorcycle, a Sigma 8mm + future D7000 + Nodal Ninja R10 + Sigma 8mm lens ring clamp + monopod makes for a very light rig. I used it hiking in Italy last summer.<br>

http://eastmanwoodworking.com/panos/ErcavelloD.html</p>

<p>If you get a chance the Palatki Indian site is beautiful. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatki_Heritage_Site It is a bit of a drive on good dirt roads, but well worth it.</p>

<p>I took some books about DSLR filming out of the library to better grasp the subject. They have given me a whole new respect for filmmakers! Makes still photography look easy. It is certainly something I will need to experiment with ( if I have the time ). I am quite impressed with my amateurish video from my D7000 thus far.</p>